Ren's Ramblings & Writings

Contemplations on things tangible and intangible

Sunday, August 26, 2012

Open Letter to Scott Gessler: The Only Fraud Undermining Our Voting Process Is Secretary Of State

Mr.
Gessler,

I have to dispute your
recent letters to our paper, and I'm sure many other sources, over the past two
weeks, which misrepresent the "voter fraud" issue in CO, misleading
readers to think that the voter fraud issue is a problem in CO, when it is, in
fact, minor.

*
Fraud by individual voters is both irrational and extremely rare.
* Many vivid anecdotes of purported voter fraud have been proven false or do
not demonstrate fraud.
* Voter fraud is often conflated with other forms of election misconduct.
* Raising the unsubstantiated specter of mass voter fraud suits a particular
policy agenda.
* Claims of voter fraud should be carefully tested before they become the basis
for action.

You
are blatantly misrepresenting the facts to the citizens of Colorado to try to
justify your voter suppression tactics. Realize that it isn't just minorities
and democrats who will be affected by these tactics. For example, many military
do not vote in minor elections. In the state of Colorado, their voter
registrations are now inactive, and they will not automatically receive ballots
in November.

Elderly
and handicapped of all races are extremely burdened. Many older folks were not born in hospitals
and thus did not receive state-issued birth certificates (they were born at
home with midwives). There are cases
like this popping up for these older voters who have never had a problem
before. The ones that have to prove citizenship cannot, despite the fact that
they have served in the military and been hard-working and honest citizens. These laws are a hardship for many of these
populations. One of the groups of people hard hit now are those in nursing
homes or retirement homes that have voted for years and now need more
identification, which most will be unable to afford to get. If they are going
to require voter picture IDs, then it should be provided for free and all
people should be able to receive that id just by showing the voter registration
card they were issued, and for people in nursing homes, then the voter id
should be able to be done by fax's or website also, which should cover all
people unable to get into the office because of disability or age.

I
recently read about a WWII vet who was not permitted to vote in a state
primary, and another lady in Florida who received notice that she'd been taken
off the voter rolls and had to suddenly prove her citizenship, after voting her
whole life. Did your sister change her name when she got married? Has your elderly mother or aunt stopped
driving? Is your daughter or niece going
to college in another state? In 11
states these normal life occurrences may result in these women not being able
to vote. This can happen to multitudes
of women regardless of their race or political affiliation. Read this article about the disenfranchisement
of military voters, which I agree with, since many military voters don't vote
in the minor elections and thus their registration may become inactive in many
states, to include Colorado.

New
Report: Military Voters Will Be Disenfranchised On Election Day Without
Immediate Action

·“A lawsuit filed in late September
against Denver's clerk and recorder by Colorado Secretary of State Scott
Gessler attempts to stop Denver from mailing ballots to voters who were
inactive in 2010. The action led to a slew of high profile politicos, including
Rachel Maddow and two U.S. Representative...”

League
of Women Voters says voter fraud is rare

Shame
on you. The only fraud that is truly undermining our voting process is
you.

Rev. Renée Lynn Ten Eyck

Fountain,
CO

Update: new article posted in the Voting News of the New York Times on August 30th, 2012: Many Suspected Ineligible Colorado Voters Are US Citizens http://thevotingnews.com/state/colorado/many-suspected-ineligible-colorado-voters-are-us-citizens-nytimes-com "Earlier this month, Republican Secretary of State Scott Gessler sent
letters to nearly 4,000 people questioning their citizenship as part of a
plan to have them voluntarily withdraw or confirm their eligibility to
vote. State officials were able to run 1,400 of those names through a
federal immigration database and found that more than 1,200 were U.S.
citizens."

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About Me

Veteran, mother, former Army wife and Navy daughter, Humanist Chaplain & Celebrant, secular ordained minister, MPA BA.
Renée serves as the chair for the Colorado Chapter of Americans United for Separation of Church and State (www.facebook.com/AmericansUnitedColorado), and enjoys reading, research, animal rescue, and all things generally saving the world.
Renee is the owner/president of A Life Well Lived Life Celebrations & Memorials, where she specializes in secular and combination format ceremonies for any and all who deserve to be honored!
www.alifewelllivedceremonies.com
Former volunteer activities include the City of Fountain Planning Commission, Family Readiness Groups, the El Paso County Placement Alternative Commission, the Fountain Valley Foundation Board of Directors, and newsletter producer for the District 8 Special Education Advisory Council and the Pikes Peak Youth Assessment Center.
In her spare time, she would like to save the world, or at least her little corner of it.

About Coyote

Wisdom and Folly, Coyote teaches us how to look at ourselves and laugh. Coyote will be right there ensuring you that wise as you may be, you can still make mistakes. But in mistakes is growth and understanding. Be prepared for Murphy's Law, but not in the context of fate; rather, Murphy's Law will manifest in response to your own faux pas.